What is love
by rocklobster5015
Summary: When Dustin is acting strange the group investigates. Mike an El have relationship troubles. The return of Jim Hopper. Not your usual ships. Valentine's day. where the love go.
1. love hurts

Chapter 1 – love hurts

Disclaimer: I do not own stranger things or the rights to stranger things

Summary: set after the events of season 3 except the byers and eleven never move out of Hawkins. The party are all in high school even eleven, who is trying to cope with losing Jim Hopper her sorta father.

love hurts

Since the death of her father eleven had been distant to her friends, and even Mike. While everyone did there best to cheer her up it seemed like she just wasn't her self. She went to school because she knew that's what Jim would have wanted. Had he still been alive she probably would have enjoyed it. Every once in a awhile she would hang out with Mike or the rest of the gang but normally her bed is where she would be. Sleeping, and sleeping for hours. While she might be slightly in a depressed state at least there's one thing that can comfort her, her boyfriend Mike.

At Mike's house Mike, Will, and Lucas are playing d and d while eleven sits lays on Mike's bed and Max is drawing in her notebook. " what do you think is going on with Dustin? It was his idea to play d and d this weekend he wanted to play this campaign" Lucas said. " I don't know he's been acting strange ever since his mom got a new boyfriend" said Mike. " this is strange maybe we should go check on him" will said. " Dustin's new step dad gives me an off feeling" Lucas said. The boys stopped playing for a second as a awkward silence filled the room. " I wanna go for a walk anyway I'll go check on him" offered Max " come with me" she said to El. Eleven nodded her head and got up.

The girls were walking down to Dustin's house I'm silence. Max broke the ice " so Valentine's day is in month you and Mike got anything special planned?" El was silent for a moment, like she was deciding if she should say what she was thinking. " El I know something's going on. You can talk to me El I promise I won't tell anyone else. You can trust me" said Max. "I don't know Mike's funny" said El. "Funny?" Said Max confused. "Before we use to kiss, and cuddle all the time, but he hasn't seemed attracted to me lately, he should be there to comfort me but all he wants to do is hang out with the party. We talked about not being together all the time and sharing are time with everyone, but I don't know. I'm just a mess I guess" El said. "Hey, hey you've been through a lot I'm sure everything will work itself out just keep hanging in there" Said Max. El just nodded her head.

At Mike's house the boys continue to play d and d while wandering where there friend Dustin is. They hear the walkie talkie go off. " hey loser mom says it's time to come home butthead" Erica yells to her brother. "Alright guys I'll see ya tomorrow" says Lucas as he grabs his bag and leaves. Will follows after Lucas has left, and looks out the blinds and watches Lucas drive away in his bike. Mike walks behind will " we're finally alone now" he whispers in his ear. They look at each other for moment, then will checks the blinds one more time. "what are you so nervous about will" he whispers in his ear again, sending shivers down the boys neck. Mike then wraps his arms around will and picks him up and walks him over to the couch, then slams him down. The two boys wrestle around for a minute, laughing, until Will pins down Mike. " when are you gonna tell everyone" Will says. " soon, ok I just have to find the rite time" Mike responded. Will huffed "I don't like being some secret like your ashamed of me". "its not like that" Mike said "the girls will be back any minute let's not waste this alone time". Mike pulled Will in tight caressing his body with his.

The girls are outside of Dustin's house. They hear a man yelling at Dustin's mom. "Asshole" Max said quietly. El knocks on the door and they wait for a response. They hear more yelling and someone walk towards the door. "I can't hangout today guys" Dustin says. "Well can you at least come out so we can talk for a minute" Maxine offers. "No! Go home!" Dustin screams. The girls look at each other knowing that something is up with Dustin. "Okay fine. We're leaving now" Max says. El gives Max a weird look, and Max grabs her hand and they walk down the street. "something weird is going on. El do you think you can use your powers to see what going on in there" Max asks. El nods her head, and starts digging through her backpack. She pulls out a small portable radio and a blindfold. They sit down on the sidewalk and she puts the blindfold on and turn the radio to some white noise.

She sees Dustin sitting in his room with his hands over his face laughing. That's weird she thought. Then she realized he wasn't laughing he was crying. She head yelling in the background lots of yelling. "what do you see?" asked Max. " Dustin is on his bed crying" she responded. Then she saw it, the reason Dustin didn't open the door. His eye was swollen and purple. She snapped back to reality. "Nasty eye" said Eleven. Max thought confused for a moment the realizing what El meant. "That asshole hit Dustin, it all makes sense. That piece of shit is gonna pay." She told El. Eleven replied " should I go in there and take care of him". Max shook her head "idk we need some more adult advise on this".

Mike and Will are lost in each other, so much that they don't hear the door open. Both boys shirtless still shuffleing around and grinding against each other. "What the fuck" they hear and both boys turn around. Eleven stares at Mike trying to understand what is happening. " I I you will uhhh!" El says trying to make a coherent sentence. "El let me explain" Mike shouts. But it's to late El runs out of the house screaming. Mike is frozen not knowing weather to run after her or let her have some space. Will gets up and puts his shirt on, while Max is still frozen from shock.


	2. love is the truth

Chapter 2- love is the truth

Eleven storms out of the house but she doesn't head home to the byers house, instead she runs to Jim's cabin. Everything running through her mind she doesn't understand. Her love, her boyfreind, her Mike, Kissing someone else the way he is supposed to kiss her. But it wasn't a girl is was Will. She hears a knock on the door. "Eleven please let me in we need to talk" Mike pleaded. "You treat me like garbage" she yelled back at him. "Please eleven It wasn't supposed to be like this" he said sniffling as if he was about to cry. She could sense the truth in what he said. She unlocked the door with her mind. He walked in tears in his eyes. "Im sorry El" he said.

Max and Will walk up the stairs to a small apartment building. There is a small red truck parked in the driveway and the lights are off. "out of all the people you really think he's the one we should ask for help?" will asks. "I don't know he's like Dustin's brother and he's been training to be a officer. I'm sure he can help" says Max. They knock on the door and wait, but there is no response. Max then starts to ring the doorbell repeatedly. The door slams open and a sleepy looking Steve Harrington appears. "What the hell is wrong with you kids it's 11 at night" he says. "Its really important Dustin is in trouble and he needs our help" Max explains. "Come in" Steve says. Max explains the situation to Steve. "ill kill that mother fucker" he yells. "alright Steve calm down , don't do anything stupid. Isn't there something you can do by law?" says will. "yeah but we need undeniable evidence that he's been abusing Dustin" Steve replied. "But we have something above the law we have El" says Max. Steve thinks for a minute. "alright I got it El roughs Dustin's mom's boyfriend up a bit but we can't get her in trouble. So El will use her powers lewer him into the basement. She will tell him to leave him alone or she will haunt him like she's a ghost. No one gets in trouble and if he reports it the Hawkins police will thinks hes crazy. Speaking of El where is she?

"friends don't lie Mike. You lied to me. You said you love me" El said with tears in her eyes. Mike hugs her and says " I didn't lie El I love you more than anyone and anything, but not the way you love me". "I don't understand" she replies. "El im gay I like guys" he said tears in his eyes. El doesn't say anything but she starts to hug him back. " your still my best friend even if I date someone you'll still be my love" he explains trying to say it so she'll understand. She nods "I understand… I guess I can't change you mike no matter how much I love you this is who you are." She says sadly. "Well still be best friends. Pinky promise?" he asks. "Pinky promise" she replies.

They hug for a good ten minutes when they hear what sounds like tapping. "is someone there?" Mike yells. They listen and try to figure out where the noise is coming from. "I thinks it's coming from the radio" yells mike. Eleven runs over to the radio and grabs a pen and paper. She starts to write he stares at her and then looks at what she's writing. Mike is confused the papers says 3 inches. "its not random tapping it's morse code" she says excitedly. Dad! Daddy! she yells. The TV turns off. She walks up to it shaking it "no daddy! come back!" she screams. Mike comforts he squezes her tight. "its ok El we're gonna find him if he's out there". She nods her head sobbing into his chest. She then pushes him off real quick and gets up. Mike watches her as she turns the TV to a channel with just static on. She the. Grabs her blindfold from her backpack. She searches just like she did for months on end after he was gone. She never accepted his death always searching but never finding him. Counting the days he'd been away, and now she had found him.

"Eleven is that you" he said. She heard his voice but didn't see anyone. "Daddy?" she called out. She kept walking through the darkness, until she saw a light in the distance. She walks toward the light slowly making out the shape of a figure. She starts to run faster and faster. "Daddy" she yells". She reaches the figure. "Daddy" she says as she goes in for a hug. Jim turns around and she stops in her tracks. She stares in front of her at Jim who appears to be a faceless man wearing Jim's body. It shrieks and his face is torn into 4 parts revealing itself as the mind flayer. She pops back to reality the stress from the encounter makes her pass out. Mike trys to wake her up with no success. He tucks her into bed, and thinks of what he should do next. He goes through Eleven's backpack looking for something. "found it" he says sofly. He pulls the radio out of her backpack, and says "code red, repeat this is a code red".


	3. love finds a way

Chapter 3: Love finds a way

"We have to open the gate" Eleven said. Mike, Eleven, Will, Lucas, Max, and Steve we're gathered round in Jim's old cabin. "No it's a trap, the mind flayer is using Jim to try and get you to open the gate" said will. "No! How would the mind flayer know about all that stuff. Only my dad would know" eleven pleaded. "Maybe the mind flayer got Jim" Lucas explained. "That would mean that Jim went into the gate before Joyce pulled the switch" Mike said. They all looked around unsure what to do. "You know who know what to do?" Steve asked rhetorically "Dustin. I say we do operation Dustin's ghost, while we figure out what to do. Everyone agreed it wouldn't be the same without Dustin there, and they need to put an end to his suffering. I need to get some anger out anyway Eleven thinks. "Alright me and Mike will go but y'all have to stay here and think of a way to find Jim." she says. Before anyone could respond she walks out the door, followed by Mike.

They arrive at Dustin's house. They look at each other for a minute thinking of what there about to do. Mike gives her a nod as if he's asking her if she's ready. She nods in response and Mike pulls out the radio and blindfold. Using her powers she takes a peak inside the house Dustin and his mom are asleep in there rooms and the asshole is watching tv. She inches towards the small window to the basement. She opens the window and crawls through to the basement. Using her powers she turns off the TV in the living room. "Ahh shit" she heard him scream. She places a walkie in the basement and crawls. Then she using her powers she turns starts to turn on light in the house. "What the hell" the asshole says. She starts to turn on lights as they lead him to the basement. He slowly walks toward the door, stopping a second before turning the door knob.

Meanwhile the rest of the gang at the cabin is trying to figure out a plan. "what do you think about that will?" Max asks. But there is no answer will just stares at the wall. Everyone tries to get his attention by calling his name "will!", "Will", "Wiiiiiiiillll". But no response. Max waves her hand in front of his face but still no response. Will looks around in shock he knows this place. He's seen it so many times. The hairs on his neck raise slightly to signal that he's in danger, but this feels different. He walks through the darkness. "Hello" he calls out "Jim". No response he sees a small light and he slowly walks towards it. He expects to walk up to it and have some jump scare, but when he finally makes out the figure he isn't scared. He stares towards the mind flayer, but it's different. Smaller less freighting almost vulnerable. The creature points a finger towards the distance. Will looks in the direction the mind flayer is pointing and sees a ray of light. In the ray of light are familiar faces. Barbara, Billy, and Jim.

Using his best attempt at a spooky voice Mike talks on the walkie. "Danny" he's says. The asshole starts freaking out he slowly walks down the basement stairs. The basement lights start to flicker like a strobe light. "What do you want" he screams. "I just wanna play" Mike says in his spooky voice. "Please whatever you won't don't hurt me" he cries. The lights go black. He hears footsteps drawing closer and closer. Wham he's slapped across the face. The lights start to flicker but no one is there. "oh good please have mercy" the man screams out. The man is now lifted up from the ground. "Please" he's now crying, and soiling himself. "you want mercy huh" Mike says. The man starts to feel a hug on his arm. "Ahhhh" he grunts in pain "please I'll never hurt anyone again please don't kill me" he cries. His cries deepen as the pressure on his arm is amplified. The room goes black again and the man falls to the ground. "Thank you, thank you" the man begs. The man is suddenly brought back up from the floor. "I have no mercy" says eleven. A heard crack is heard along with the screams of the man and his now broken arm.

The next morning Dustin gets a knock on his door. "Guess whos back" Dustin says with a smile on his face. Mike, Eleven and Dustin walk back towards the cabin while they explain everything that happened. Mike starts to walk a little ahead of them. "hey El" Dustin says "thanks". "For what" she replies. "You know what. Thanks I really mean it El." Dustin said. "Common guys" Mike yells for them to catch up. They arrive at the cabin to the smell of breakfast. Everyone gives Dustin a hug as they walk in and eat the breakfast Steve cooked. Will tells Eleven about what he saw in the upside down. They all ponder at what all this means. "I think I understand" Dustin explains " I think the mind flayer is sick and hurt and he needs to return to the gate, back to his home, and in return for opening the gate he'll give back the people he's taken." "could be a trap" says will. "If it means getting my dad back that's a chance I'm willing to take" said El. "if it is a trap well be prepared" said Steve.


End file.
